Badosa upsets top seed Sabalenka in WTA Finals debut
Coming from a break down in the first set, Paula Badosa won 10 games in a row to beat world No 2 Sabalenka in straight sets
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Rob Prange/Shutterstock (12596804cz)
Paula Badosa of Spain in action during the first round robin match at the 2021 Akron WTA Finals Guadalajara WTA tennis tournament
Akron WTA Finals, Day 2, Tennis, Panamerican Tennis Center Guadalajara, Mexico – 11 Nov 2021
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WTA Finals Guadalajara | Draw | Schedule
- What happened: Making her WTA Finals debut, Spain’s Paula Badosa upset top seeded Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets in the evening session match on Thursday
- Why it matters: Badosa’s 1-0 record and 2-0 record in sets puts her in good position for a semi-final spot
- You will also learn: The Spaniard is now tied with Greece’s Maria Sakkari at the top of Group Chichen-Itza
Spain’s Paula Badosa caused a big upset on Day 2 of the WTA Finals in Guadalajara, Mexico with a straight sets win over top seed Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus.
Badosa, playing in her first-ever WTA Finals match, needed one hour and 16 minutes to complete the 6-4, 6-0 win and improve to 2-0 lifetime against world No 2 Sabalenka.
Badosa fights back after going down an early break
It was Sabalenka who started off strong against the 23-year-old Spaniard, going up an early break to lead 4-2. However, Badosa broke back not once, but twice to win four games in a row and claim the first set 6-4.
Badosa wins 10 games in a row to close out the match
From there on, there was no looking back for the world No 10, who began the year ranked 70th in the world. She won the next six games on the trot as well to win 10 games in a row and complete the 6-4, 6-0 win.
The match stats clearly showed why Badosa turned out on top. Sabalenka stacked up 31 unforced errors as against just 15 winners, while the Spaniard hit 14 winners as against only 19 unforced errors.
Badosa also won 70% of her first serve points and 56% of her second serve points, besting Sabalenka in that department as well (62% and 32% respectively).
Chichen-Itza Group Standings
At the end of the first day of matches in Group Chichen-Itza, both Badosa and Maria Sakkari, who defeated Iga Swiatek in straight sets earlier in the day, are tied for first place in the group with one win each.
- Sakkari, 1-0 (2 sets won, 0 sets lost)
- Badosa, 1-0 (2 sets won, 0 sets lost)
- Sabalenka, 0-0 (0 sets won, 2 sets lost)
- Swiatek, 0-1 (0 sets won, 2 sets lost)
